Chapter 36: Chapter 35 closure
A/N I know double upload this not going to happen a lot
* trigger warning: mention of suicidal *
The square was packed full of people. Almost anyone that was anyone of even the slightest importance to the Japanese public was there.
Everyone from the prime minister and the emperor to your corner department store's ordinary managers were there. That was, of course, besides the throngs of civilians and heroes that attended.
It had been three weeks since the battle at
Kamino. Only now did the site managed to look less like a warzone, but the scars remained. The gorges were cleaned of debris and any foul-smelling odors, but they were not yet filled in.
Fallen buildings still ring the battlefield as rescue crews work tirelessly to try and find anyone that might be alive. The search was stopped a few days ago when all they managed to pull out for a week in a row were dismembered corpses
In the middle of it all, a small park was erected at the bottom of the massive crater that All Might's final blow produced. A small garden of serenity and tranquility amidst the ruins. It was this place that the hordes of people surrounded.
At its center stood a statue of All Might, with his fist raised high in triumphant victory. Surrounding the circular walkway around his statue were 12 monoliths made of stone, more specifically, made from the basalt that I used to parry All For One's thrown building. On each slab were written the names of all who died in this fight.
Including my mother
I felt my eyes burn, but I shoved down my rage. In the two weeks since I awoke, I hadn't used my Sharingan in any of it's stages, bar one time. One foolish time where I declared war against villains.
It hadn't hit me then, not really, that what I just did was the equivalent of pointing a loaded gun towards my foot and playing Russian roulette with the trigger. Then, of course, some supported me and my actions, but the larger community of Japanese people now looked at me like some sort of war monger. The rest of the heroes were no different.
Where before I had expected to reach top 5 before winter, now I would be lucky if I remain in the top 10, and unfortunately my escalation of the conflict stood as a possible cause for the increase in villain activity across the board. Unfortunately, even if the truth had little to do with my declaration, people often listen to the one who shouts the loudest.
And all of this brings us to this moment. Here, standing at All Might's feet for the nation to gain a sense of closure after the tragedy that had just happened.
Izuku was leading the procession that carried All Might's remaining ashes. It was a small amount that was able to be collected. The power of the Eight Gates made short work of his body, given that he was already severely weakened.
I stood silent for the entire procession. There was nothing I could do right now but wait and see.
It took hours, but Aizawa stood silently by along with the rest of UA's staff and students. At the very least, Izuku was back with them. The void that Izuku's disappearance and Katsuki's apparent suicide caused almost shattered the cohesion of the group. After all, those two were the hearths of class 1-A.
Looking away from where his class was standing,
Aizawa directed his gaze at the lone figure standing before All Might's coffin. It was his duty to perform the final step of the ceremony. And yet, Aizawa couldn't help but feel like he had failed Madara.
The atmosphere was clear. Madara was alone. The only one that stood by him was his brother, but for the people of Japan, the golden boy of hero society was no more. It was maddening to see just how fast people change their allegiance, how fast they turn on their protectors.
Still, they dared not say anything out loud, even if Madara was smart enough to read between the lines. The people were uneasy and Madara's choice of attire did not help matters. Not as he was dressed in his pure midnight black armor from that fateful day, armor that he had not cleaned or fixed, armor that still had the blood of innocents on it. The red cape he donned over it covered what it could, but Aizawa was of the opinion that Madara did not wish to conceal anything, if only to bring the public to wake up to the true reality of the world.
With a few movements of his hands, the coffin containing All Might's remains sunk into the ground and on top of the place where it sunk, a small pilar of fire sprouted, casting it's golden light over the surrounding area.
Madara did not move. Not until everyone else had already left.
Izuku stayed by his brother. It was the least he could do to show solidarity. He knew that Melissa and her father were watching them from slightly farther away. Madara was in pain, that was clear, and this time it was his turn to help.
Izuku stepped forward
"Nii-san..."
Izuku spoke in soft tones. Even so, he could see Madara tense up as if preparing to clad his heart in steel, even if for just a moment
"Izuku" he breath a whisper
Izuku ascended the stairs to stand side by side with him. Only now, looking at him could Izuku see the tear streaks that crossed his brother's cheeks.
From the way he was looking, he had been crying for quite a while, but the light and his proximity to the fire let nothing to be seen by any casual observer.
All the people were gone. It was only Madara and Izuku here. Melissa and her father were too far away to see or hear anything clearly.
"Let's go home ni-san. Everyone's already left"
Madara was silent for a moment and afterwards, he raised his head and looked at Izuku. Izuku could quite clearly see his stormy dark green eyes that were full of grief. It was a mark that his brother had finally given up all pretense of composure and all that was holding him together was the last shred of his pride, though even it was falling
"What home, Izuku? I destroyed it. Mom is gone, All Wight is gone and everything I have strived to achieve is crumbling before my very eyes. Where is home, Izuku? I can't seem to remember"
Izuku grabbed his hand. And pulled Madara in a
hug.
"Come one then, I'll show you"
The apartment building looked dilapidated, even though others were still standing and very much intact. Though, it was to be expected, after all their old home was the first place All For One's goons had hit in their search for their mother. At least it was better than the housing for those under hero protection. That apartment was completely destroyed.
Izuku watched as his brother moved though the remains of their apartment, running his hands over the walls and looking at old pictures. Izuku and his mother had been allowed to move back after the media had calmed down. His mother had made a request, saying that the apartment they had been given didn't heel like home to her.
"Do you remember this?"
Izuku turned back to see what Madara was asking about. He held a picture of their entire family. It was one they had taken after the sports festival had ended. Izuku still had a massive grin on his face, something that Madara easily mirrored. His face looked softer then than it did now, but that was to be expected. After all, no one can go through what they had and come out the same in the end.
Izuku walked up to his brother and took the picture frame from the table it was sitting on, running his hands over it to remove some of its accumulated dust. He was right. This was the picture they had taken together with All Might in his Yagi Toshinori form.
"I do" whispered Izuku
Izuku looked up from the picture and fixed his eyes on his brother
"You can't keep blaming yourself elder brother. It wasn't your fault"
It was an old mantra by now, but Izuku felt like he had to say it. Especially now that his brother had awakened the cursed eyes that he had warned him about so long ago.
"Still feels like it, even if I know in my head that there was nothing, I could have done to prevent what happened, my heart still wonders if I could have done something different"
Izuku was silent. He just stood there and waited for his brother to say his goodbyes.
They weren't taking anything from that house. No pictures, no memories, nothing.
That house was their only remaining tie to the past. It had to be severed lest it keep old wounds too raw and open.
The moment they were out of the building, the demolition charges went off.
The past was buried and the world still turned
We finally arrived at our destination. UA.
Originally, I had planned to use Might tower as my home as well as my base of operations. My actions in the past few days however, have put a damper on things. Japan is still reeling and soon enough the villainous underbelly of society will begin to stir. had to be ready for the avalanche of people and organizations that wanted All For One's throne as the king of evil.
To do that, I needed a place to relax.
It is fortunate that I'm still on good enough terms with Nezu for him to allow me a place on campus.
A shout brought me out of my musings. Looking up I see a mass of students barrel towards Izuku.
Most of them were crying and Izuku was crying alongside them. It seemed like an almost sacred moment, one I had no intention of interrupting.
This being said, it wasn't long before they began noticing me.
It was telling that their posture changed immediately. I decided to nip it in the but before it turned out even more awkward
"Hello"
They stiffened and seemed unwilling to answer
"Ok, that's enough" came a familiar voice
If it wasn't for the fact that I was carrying mime and Izuku's luggage, I would have let my shoulders sag with relief as Aizawa made his presence felt
"Sensei!"
"Madara will be staying with us for the foreseeable future" said Aizawa in a no nonsense tone
lida had his hand in the air immediately
"Will he be attending UA alongside Izuku?"
"No. He is here mostly as an additional form of security, though I imagine that he will be busy enough at Might Tower, so don't harass him. Treat him as you will any other teacher. He just so happens to be your age"
"So that means that Izuku will be coming back to school with us?" asked the blonde, Kaminari
"Yeah, though I may be needed in the field from time to time" confirmed Izuku
The class cheered again and picked him up and carried him inside. Izuku was laughing all the way.
I noticed Aizawa approaching me
"How are you?"
I gave him a look
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. You know exactly what I mean.
So, how are you holding up?"
This time I let myself sag a bit
"I don't know, better? It's still too early to tell and there's so much to do that I haven't even began to process all that's happened properly"
"You know that you can request help, I don't think that Hound Dog will turn you away if you ask him"
I smiled at Aizawa's concern and shook my head
"There's too much to do. I have to ensure that all All Might had worked for won't come crashing down the moment the dust settles. On another note, how's Melissa doing?"
"Fine. There weren't any problems integrating her with 3-A, though she'll have to take the provisional license exam with the first years, there shouldn't be any problems"
"Good, that's good. If you need me, you know where to find me, right?"
Aizawa nodded.
I dropped my bags and began walking towards the forested area nearby. I needed to be alone for a while, to find my center. I will allow myself this small luxury.
The sound of clashing steel echoed through the training hall. Nearly 40 pairs of eyes watched transfixed as Izuku and Melissa danced together under the ever watchful gaze of Madara.
Aizawa had to admit that the daughter of David Shield had surprised him. Her had honestly thought that she would be like her father, a support technician. However, seeing her like this, dueling what could be reasonably called one of the strongest fighters in Japan now, all doubt vanished from Aizawa. It was even more impressive because Izuku was going at her with his full strength.
It was evident that Izuku was the strongest and fastest of the two, though that didn't deter her.
Melissa had technique and finesse on her side that would make more than a few pro heroes jealous.
"They're still going at it?" asked a voice from the doorway behind the stands
Aizawa turned to greet Vlad. As it was usual in the Aizawa fashion he simply grunted an affirmative.
"How long have they been at it now?"
"Three hours, maybe a little bit more" answered
Aizawa
Vlad let out an impressed sounding grunt of his own. Aizawa didn't blame him. It was impressive, especially considering that at the level they had been continuously fighting, not even top pro heroes could have sustained the same rhythm.
"Those kids are nuts, even by UA standard" noted Vlad as Melissa displayed an impressive mastery of acrobatics that were needed to doge the high-speed strikes of Izuku
Aizawa didn't disagree. Looking at the 'spectator' benches, it was clear that he wasn't alone with Vlad in his assessment.
'The way she is fighting, it reminds me of Izuku when he first got his chakra. Could it be that she is a chakra wielder as well?'
That was a frightening thought. Two chakra wielders have already proven to be a grave threat to any would be villain, and in the same vein, a threat to the stability of Japan itself. To add another one to their ranks and so soon after All Might's defeat was suspicious
'No, they didn't add her just now, those kind of skills need years of training and discipline for one to acquire, it is not something that can be just learned in a month or two. And because she is a possible chakra wielder, that means that she must be quirkless. Did Madara planned this all along?'
It was a scarry thought, but not an absurd one.
Madara has shown himself to be particularly resourceful when it comes to long term plans like that. It would not be beyond his skills to ensure that Melissa shield walks down a path where she could gather as much of the necessary training for her to truly bloom when given access to chakra.
With a final clash, the duel came to an end as the training saber in Melissa's hands shattered under Izuku's heavy blows.
Aizawa pushed himself off the wall and headed down to the arena. Now that the spectacle was over, the real training could begin.
"Man, I'm beat" said Kaminari as he flopped onto the couch in the dorm common room
"I know what you mean" replied Kirishima
Kaminari perked up at the unnaturally gloom tone of Kirishima's voice. He wasn't the only one as Mina, Momo and others also took note of the slight undertone of sadness that seemed to permeate his very being
"Ok, enough of that! Eijiro, I forbid you from being gloomy!" yelled out Mina
"Ok, sure" came the droll response
Mina frowned and pouted. Momo, the ever diplomat stepped in to mediate the situation
"I know that you miss Bakugou, but you can't go on like this"
"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. It's just, I hoped that he would come back with Midorya, either of them. I mean you can't really believe that he... you know" said Kirishima
The rest of the class present winced a bit. Bakugou and All Might were still open wounds as far as they were concerned and not something that you brought us over dinner.
"I... don't know. We only knew him for a coupe of months, but Izuku said that it wasn't true, and he was childhood friends with him, so he's got to know, right?" said Mina
The others hesitantly nodded, not wanting to even entertain the idea that the proud hero student that is Bakugou Katsuki would do something like kill himself over this
"I guess you're right" admitted Kirishima
"Great! Now we have to talk about the new girl that Izuku's been hanging around" said Mina, successfully changing the subject
"I know, right, she's so awesome" said Kaminari
"And strong. I mean, did you see how she pinned izuku too the floor at the end?
"Yeah, but he reversed the situation really fast, though you're right. She's got mad skills with that sword"
"Guys, are you thinking what I am thinking?"
The rest if the night was spent doing in the typical teenage gossip mongering fashion, with the members of class 1-A being oblivious to their hidden stalker.
Madara pushed himself off the wall with a small smile. After all it was a good idea to unwind some, and what better way to do that then by picking up on gossip and using it as blackmail against his little brother
The license exam came soon enough. It was interesting to see the reactions of all the different schools and students as my brother and I descended from the bus. It was fun for a while, and afterwards it simply became annoying.
The exam went well, even though class 1-A was one member short, though that would be fixed soon enough.
It was a shame that Todoroki's previous behavior cane to haunt him and cost him his license, but that was only a temporary setback, not something truly career ending.
Afterwards I returned to Might Tower.
I wasted enough time and villains won't catch themselves.
I will continue the task that All Might left for me, undoubted by what others think of me. For I am the hero the need, not the one they desire
High in the mountains of Japan, Katsuki had just passed his own test. He was proud of what he had accomplished in the 3 weeks since that day he decided to change the course of his life for good.
"You are finally ready" intoned the old man "to be inducted into the Order"
Katsuki grinned. This was his start line.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone